The Definition of the Message Representation Creation Problem in the Context of Internet-Based Knowledge Sharing and Service Automation

The possibility of interacting with remote services in natural language opens up new opportunities for sharing knowledge and for automating services. Easy-to-use, text-based interfaces might provide more democratic access to legal information, government services, and everyday knowledge as well. However, the methodology of engineering robust natural language interfaces is very diverse and widely deployed solutions are still yet to come. In this paper the author offers a theoretical insight that might provide useful as a common ground for discussion. The main contribution is a detailed problem analysis, which reveals that a text-based interface is best understood as an artificial agent that represents the interests of the remote party who is separated in time and space from the client. A possible ethical issue about the development of such an agent is also discussed.